Why do teenagers and young adults like this word?
"like"
It strikes me as rather 'yobbish', it just gives that gist. I suppose that it's something to fill the gaps with - it takes them that long to work out in which order the words should go! It also rather gives the impression that they are uncaring about the conversation. I would steer clear!
<<it takes them that long to work out in which order the words should go>>
No it doesn't. That's not why.
Do ~you~ need time to organize your words?--well then, neither do they. You're not smarter than anyone else Caspio.
No it doesn't. That's not why.
Do ~you~ need time to organize your words?--well then, neither do they. You're not smarter than anyone else Caspio.
<<It strikes me as rather 'yobbish', it just gives that gist. I suppose that it's something to fill the gaps with - it takes them that long to work out in which order the words should go! It also rather gives the impression that they are uncaring about the conversation. I would steer clear!>>
No. It's called "Modern Colloquial English". There's nothing wrong about it. In fact it is a very meaningful word that can convey a lot of subtleties. Some people do go over the top, but I think it would be fair to say almost everyone under 25 uses 'like' to some extent. I expect to see it in the dictionary soon.
No. It's called "Modern Colloquial English". There's nothing wrong about it. In fact it is a very meaningful word that can convey a lot of subtleties. Some people do go over the top, but I think it would be fair to say almost everyone under 25 uses 'like' to some extent. I expect to see it in the dictionary soon.
<< You're not smarter than anyone else Caspio. >> So everyone is of the same intelligence? That's not true, my IQ places me in the top 2% of the UK.
<< almost everyone under 25 uses 'like' to some extent >> I don't use it at all, it's ridiculous.
<< "Modern Colloquial English" >> This means slang - street talk. It is the ruining of a language, and we could do without. If you could see how thick some people at my school are, you'd soon change your mind!
<< almost everyone under 25 uses 'like' to some extent >> I don't use it at all, it's ridiculous.
<< "Modern Colloquial English" >> This means slang - street talk. It is the ruining of a language, and we could do without. If you could see how thick some people at my school are, you'd soon change your mind!
<<I expect to see it in the dictionary soon.>>
It is already in the best dictionaries, learner's dictionaries included. Two examples:
Longman for advanced learners: (adverb) used in speech to fill a pause while you are thinking what to say next - The water was, like, really cold.
Merriam Webster Collegiate: (adverb) used interjectionally in informal speech often to emphasize a word or phrase (as in “He was, like, gorgeous”) or for an apologetic, vague, or unassertive effect (as in “I need to, like, borrow some money”)
It is already in the best dictionaries, learner's dictionaries included. Two examples:
Longman for advanced learners: (adverb) used in speech to fill a pause while you are thinking what to say next - The water was, like, really cold.
Merriam Webster Collegiate: (adverb) used interjectionally in informal speech often to emphasize a word or phrase (as in “He was, like, gorgeous”) or for an apologetic, vague, or unassertive effect (as in “I need to, like, borrow some money”)
Like, how would it be if, like, a pastor, like, was using "like" while he was, like, speaking at the church. Would people, like, still go that church or would they, like, get annoyed and leave.
My girlfriend's daughter (I'll call her Fatima) and her friends use it all the time as well (they were all actually born in and have lived all their lives in the San Fernando Valley). Most of them are aware of Val-speak and they can turn it off if they have, like a job interview and when they're like talking to relatives that are like older(?) and they can even turn off that upward swing of intonation that seems to appear at the end of most sentences making it sound like a question. In fact parents coach their children from an early age about "not talking like a valley girl". It's very funny to listen to them talk amongst themselves because when talking with other Valley Girls they use it with absolute abandon. "Like" is used constantly, every sentence sounds like a question and the vowels open up in every word. Caspian would have to plug his ears. I give them a hard time about it and of course this makes them exaggerate it even more.
Most of them are also the children of immigrants and recently a group of girls (late teens) were discussing an article they had read about the identity crisis faced by some teenage children of immigrants. All of them found the premise of the article ridiculous because none of the girls in Fatima's circle felt out of place in mainstream US society. In fact all of them aer at that rebellious stage where they refuse to engage with ideas related to the country where their parents were born. My girlfriend's daughter amped up the Val-speak and said, "What the fuck?? Anyone can fit in, even if you weren't born here... all you have to do is like, say "like" every other word and no one will even know you're from somewhere else."
The thing about Val-speak is it makes the speaker sound very unsure of herself and not at all articulate. As with other alternative dialects, it's fun and adds color to their "mini-culture" but they'll need to learn to codeswitch to a "more standard" form when circumstances call for a more formal approach.
Most of them are also the children of immigrants and recently a group of girls (late teens) were discussing an article they had read about the identity crisis faced by some teenage children of immigrants. All of them found the premise of the article ridiculous because none of the girls in Fatima's circle felt out of place in mainstream US society. In fact all of them aer at that rebellious stage where they refuse to engage with ideas related to the country where their parents were born. My girlfriend's daughter amped up the Val-speak and said, "What the fuck?? Anyone can fit in, even if you weren't born here... all you have to do is like, say "like" every other word and no one will even know you're from somewhere else."
The thing about Val-speak is it makes the speaker sound very unsure of herself and not at all articulate. As with other alternative dialects, it's fun and adds color to their "mini-culture" but they'll need to learn to codeswitch to a "more standard" form when circumstances call for a more formal approach.
I HATE this. When I hear the uptalking and likes, it, like, makes me want to slit my own throat with a sharpened fingernail.
"Like, how would it be if, like, a pastor, like, was using "like" while he was, like, speaking at the church. Would people, like, still go that church or would they, like, get annoyed and leave. "
I would, like, move my letter to another church.
"'all you have to do is like, say "'like' every other word and no one will even know you're from somewhere else.'"
Then if I ever go to California they'll just have to know that I'm not from there because I, like, don't use "like" like that and I'm SO TOTALLY pen-pin merged and because I, like, monophthongize /aI/ before voiced consonants.
"Like, how would it be if, like, a pastor, like, was using "like" while he was, like, speaking at the church. Would people, like, still go that church or would they, like, get annoyed and leave. "
I would, like, move my letter to another church.
"'all you have to do is like, say "'like' every other word and no one will even know you're from somewhere else.'"
Then if I ever go to California they'll just have to know that I'm not from there because I, like, don't use "like" like that and I'm SO TOTALLY pen-pin merged and because I, like, monophthongize /aI/ before voiced consonants.
Wow! Some of you are downright haters! Why do you care so much if people decide to use their own dialect? Does people using language to create a distinct identity different from yours frighten you so much that you are driven to such lengths as to post a reply that could easily be interpreted as exposing an underlying xenophobic philosophy? Why are you so scared?
Isn't the broad range of ideas and philosophies that are expressed through the boundless diversity of dialects and languages something that gives us a collective strength? And if not quite that extreme, something that at least can leave us with awe at the myriad possibilities that culture and language can imprint on one's psyche through the socialization process?
In fact, in this dialect, the inflection of "like" can be used to express several things. For example, attitude of the speaker toward situation or audience, emotional states, urgency, confidence, etc.. Get over the fact that you have to share the world with others who are different than you.
Isn't the broad range of ideas and philosophies that are expressed through the boundless diversity of dialects and languages something that gives us a collective strength? And if not quite that extreme, something that at least can leave us with awe at the myriad possibilities that culture and language can imprint on one's psyche through the socialization process?
In fact, in this dialect, the inflection of "like" can be used to express several things. For example, attitude of the speaker toward situation or audience, emotional states, urgency, confidence, etc.. Get over the fact that you have to share the world with others who are different than you.
Like in many cases is a very expressive word with a lot of subtleties unidentifiable to outsiders.
My girlfriend grew up in Agoura Hills and Westlake in North LA County, but her father is from Liverpool and her mom is from Detroit and they have both made a conscious effort to keep her from speaking like a valley girl. Though her accent sounds "neutral" to them (not "neutral" meaning she speaks like them, neutral as in "she doesn't have an accent"), she has a slight valley girl accent and it drives her nuts when I tell her that.
You may want to take a look at this thread:
http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t9715-0.htm
The subject matter was the same as in this one, namely "like" as a pause filler.
Best,
Achab
http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t9715-0.htm
The subject matter was the same as in this one, namely "like" as a pause filler.
Best,
Achab